1. Field of the Invention
Battery packaging construction for multicelled flat or cubic alkali metal batteries wherein a plurality of cells are individually packaged in horizontal layers of electrically insulating material, with leads from the cells connected in series or parallel to terminals, the packaged cells are stacked and placed in a moisture proof bag, which is heat sealed and the bag placed in a hard box, from which the terminals extend.
2. Description of the Prior Art
While there are many different types of battery packaging arrangements for single celled batteries, none of them are satisfactory for multicelled batteries, which batteries are required for many applications and must satisfy various criteria.
Examples of prior art patents are the U.S. Patents to Coleman et. al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,632,782; Nowotny 2,798,895; Ikeda et. al. 4,371,597; Tamminem 4,816,354; and the United Kingdom Patent to Pearson No. 2087636.
The U.S. Pat. No. to Nowotny, 2,798,895 discloses a point contact battery of the zinc LecLanche dry cell flat type wherein the cell components are sealed within a pair of plastic sheets. A collector plate is provided which makes electrical contact within the cell and has a plurality of sharp projections projecting from the plate and through the outer cell covering.
The British patent to Pearson, No. GB 2087636A discloses a recombinant lead acid battery with two or more cell packs comprised of positive and negative electrodes interleaved with glass fiber separators, each cell pack enclosed in a plastic bag and all the cell packs are sealed in a common outer plastic bag, which has a one way vent. The whole assembly is enclosed in a fold up outer casing.
None of the patents have cells which include leads which are electrically connected together by electrically conducting adhesive or tape, and none of the prior art patents disclose structure that would provide adequate protection from moisture in an alkaline metal or alkaline earth metal battery. None of the prior art patents includes a bag constructed of metallic foil, coated with a heat sealable plastic, which encloses the cells.
Multicelled batteries are usually packaged in a welded outer shell of metal, such as stainless steel, with the individual cells separated by layers of loose sheets of insulating material, such as oiled paper or plastic. While such construction may be satisfactory for many battery applications, it is heavy, expensive, does not adequately protect the cells, is difficult to handle and suffers from other shortcomings. The battery packaging construction of the invention does not suffer from the prior art problems and provides many positive advantages.